Megaman ZX - The Novelization
by DarkGreiga
Summary: Well, the title pretty much says much of it, except one thing! The story features both Vent and Aile as the main characters and might have some connections with my other ZX stories later on. Vent and Aile both lost their mothers in a Maverick raid, and their meeting with a certain man would be a change of destiny and life for them especially after a special delivery. Rock ON!
1. The Maverick Raid

Yeah, it's been ages since the last time I wrote for the ZX section! I kinda feel like writing for the games again after beating both games in English and Japanese (though I'm still not all that good with the language, yet). Sooo... I've decided to make the novelizations of the game and here's the first one! I see that there are other authors writing the novelization, but too bad that (from the last time I checked) none of them were completed... Alright, let's cut things short and get on with the fic!

Disclaimer: I don't own most of the storyline and I definitely own none of the characters!

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_**Megaman ZX – The Novelization**_

_**Chapter 1 – The Maverick Raid**_

For many years, men and machines had continued to fight with each other. Many victims had fallen over the years of war, but yet it wasn't the reason for the war to stop. It was until a single Reploid came and saved the world, sacrificing himself for the sake of men and machines alike. With that sacrifice, the war had finally come to an end and the men and machines formed a truce.

The peace didn't last forever, however. A group of machines made to attack men, Mavericks, had once again come into a rise. More victims fell to the Mavericks and men didn't have the power to fight back. Even with the help with the good Reploids, they couldn't take down a whole army of Mavericks all around the world. It was almost the end of the world, until one man rose up and hunted down the Mavericks.

Screams were heard everywhere. As common as screams were in amusement parks, those weren't happy or excited screams. Those were screams of fear. The park's rides were engulfed with flames as an army of Mavericks charged in into the park, killing anyone they saw on their way. People were running all over the park, trapped within the fire, and on the next second, their screams weren't heard anymore.

A five years old boy with short brown hair and green eyes were running while holding a woman's hand, whose hair and eye had the same color as him, except that her hair was longer. They came into a stop when they saw a group of Mavericks in front of them, pointing their guns at them. The woman knelt down to the boy, who was shaking in fear as he looked up at her.

"M-Mommy… I-I'm scared…" The boy whispered shakily as he held on to the woman tightly.

The woman hugged him and put a hand on his head, "It's okay, Vent… Everything is going to be okay… Don't worry, Mommy's here…"

The Mavericks began shooting at them, but the woman had pulled the boy, Vent, into her arms and blocked the shots with her body. Vent shut his eyes until he noticed some liquid dripping to his hands. He opened his eyes to see the woman, his own mother, with her eyes completely lifeless before she collapsed on top of him.

"M-Mom…? Mommy! No, Mommy! Please! Don't leave me!" Vent cried as he saw his mother die in front of his eyes before peeking from under his mother's body and saw a shadowy figure in the shape of an ape, "Y-You! You killed my mom!"

The shadowy ape figure raised his left hand, which had something in it, before throwing the object at them. Vent crawled out from under his mother's corpse to get away, but his legs and arms were still shaking heavily, making him unable to move as a sphere-shaped object was thrown towards his direction.

"Look out!"

A man with blond hair quickly ran to Vent's side and picked him up before he jumped out of the way. With Vent locked in his arm, the man quickly ran towards the park's exit, where a small staff building was. The man opened the door in a hurry and put Vent carefully before he got in and closed the door back. He peeked through the window and saw that there were no Mavericks around them and sighed before turning to Vent.

"That was close… Are you okay, little boy? Are you hurt?" The blond man asked.

Vent just shook his before he noticed the sound of mechanical footsteps outside the staff building they were in, "T-There's… more… But… no security force…"

"This is bad…" The man peeked through the window once more before turning to Vent once more, "You wait here and hide. Don't let those Mavericks see you!"

Vent only gave him a silent nod and saw as the man went out through the door. Vent tiptoed to see the man came running into the park and disappeared into the raging flames in the park. Just then, another army of Reploids came, but instead of aiming for the people, they were aiming the attacking Mavericks instead.

"That's… Isn't that… the big company's security force…?" Vent asked himself as he saw that the Mavericks were being shot down one by one.

Meanwhile, the blond man was looking around in the park, desperately looking for more survivors. When he looked further in, he saw that there were people stuck in the Ferris wheel along with a flying Maverick. The man quickly made his way towards the wheel, but another flying Maverick came dashing towards him from his right side, knocking him away from the ground and towards a steel pillar supporting the thorn-down roller-coaster.

"Ugh…" The man got up and saw the flying Maverick had a gun pointed at him. Just as it was about to shoot, it was shot first and exploded. When the man turned to the direction where the shot came from, he saw a Galleon Hunter with green lights on its helmet, "Slither Inc.'s security force?" The sound of a gun was heard from the Ferris wheel, "Oh no!"

The man ran past the Galleon and quickly made his way towards the Ferris wheel, but it was too late as a corpse of a woman with brown hair reaching to her shoulder was found on the roof of the wheel's control building. As the man was still looking up at the corpse on the roof, he heard some sobbing sound and turned to the bushes near the wheel. It turned out to be a five years old girl, crying in the bushes.

"It's okay, little girl… Don't cry now…" The man offered the girl his hand. The girl, who had short brown hair and green eyes, stopped crying to look at him and took his offered hand.

After the man pulled the girl out of the bushes, they saw that the fire had died down and not many Mavericks left were around. The security force had wiped most of them out, but they hadn't left any more survivors left. The man walked out of the park along with the girl, who was clutching his hand with her own shaking hand.

Once they were out, they saw Vent, badly beaten up, standing over a headless Maverick, "It's… it's because of you guys…" Vent sniffed and let his tears drop, "If only… if only…" Vent fell to his knees and hit the headless and motionless Maverick under him with his fists, "… then… m-my mom…"

Vent didn't get to finish his sentence as he has started crying, which made the girl the man had saved to cry as well. The man looked back and forth between them before letting out a long sigh, "I'm going to have my hands full taking care of these poor orphans for a while…"

Ten years had passed since the events of the Maverick attack. The two orphans were taken in by the man, called Giro, who was the head of Giro Express Transporters. The boy, Vent, and the girl, Aile, were taken care of by Giro before he asked them to help out as transporters once they got older. Aile was being helpful and became the clients' favorite for her manners, while Vent was known to be rude to the clients.

It was a peaceful day in the city area, or Area C, and another delivery day for the transporters of Giro Express. Aile was taking a break after finishing her delivery, while Vent had just finished packing items to be delivered when Aile suddenly ran over to him and purposely making Vent to drop the boxes he was carrying.

"Stop it, Aile! Don't you know how hard it was to pack those items?" Vent complained angrily before he picked up the boxes and stacked them up.

"Sorry, sorry!" Aile laughed jokingly before she picked up one and stacked it on top of another, "Let me help out, then!"

"It's… it's fine…" Vent replied quietly, but Aile could still hear him, "You should go back to having your break. You did go to a really far place for that delivery, right?"

"Yeah," Aile turned to her friend, "Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"I'm okay, these aren't too heavy anyway…" Vent lifted up the stack of boxes before slowly walking towards the back room.

"Ah, Aile!" Giro came into the staff room, "Is that important package still on the place?"

Aile let out a sigh, "Yes, Giro… For the tenth time, it's still there," Aile moved out of the way and pointed at the smaller box sitting on top of the other bigger boxes, "See?"

"Alright," Giro turned away and reached for the communication device on his ear, "Yes, we will be on our way," Giro turned back to Aile, "Aile, tell Vent to get ready. The three of us are heading out to the forest area to deliver that important package."

"Okay," Aile nodded before Giro went out of the staff room. Aile picked up the small box and peeked through the door leading to the backroom, "Vent, are you done in there? Giro, you, and I are all going for a delivery! A very important delivery!"

"Huh? Another important delivery?" Vent's voice was heard from deep inside the backroom, "Seriously, Boss always considers every delivery to be important deliveries… Alright, tell Boss I'll be right there in a sec!"

"Don't take too long or we'll leave you behind!" Aile replied before she headed out of the staff room with the box in her hand.

"Geez, I'm going already!" Vent hurriedly left the backroom and headed out of the staff room.

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The thing with Vent, Aile, and the boxes was inspired by the anime commercial, so yeah... I don't own that part too... And next time, the real story of the first game in the ZX series starts!

Quite an important note (not sure if it's really that important to you guys, but oh well...) : The next updates will come randomly between three stories (sorry, but this is just for fun!) and the participating stories will be in my profile, if you feel like going through the very not important long list of favorites.

And to wrap things up today: Please leave a review!


	2. Rock ON!

And today's update is... this one!

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and most of the storyline!

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_**Megaman ZX – The Novelization**_

_**Chapter 2 – Rock ON!**_

A few minutes had passed since they left from the head office in the city on their bikes and Giro, Vent, and Aile had arrived in the forest area or Area A. Vent looked at his surroundings before he got off his bike and walked towards a dead tree on the end of the cliff. Aile, who was stretching her arms and legs, saw him walked away and followed him. Giro was standing by his bike as he got a transmission on his communicator.

"Hello! Thank you for calling Giro Express Transporters! We can take anything, anywhere!" Giro answered through his communicator.

"_Giro? Is that you?"_ The voice of a girl was heard from the other side.

"Ah, the Guardian…" Giro replied, before he noticed what he said and corrected himself, "… or should I say client."

"_Did you receive the package from the archaeological recon unit?"_ The girl asked.

Giro looked back to Aile's bike, where the package was, "Yes, I got it."

"_My unit is heading for the agreed upon rendezvous point. It's a little sooner than expected, but let's meet up there,"_ The girl continued.

"Alright," Giro finally said before ending the transmission and turned to the two transporters standing next to a dead tree by the cliff, "Vent, Aile! Are you two ready to move out?" The two completely ignored him, making Giro walk closer to approach them, "Hey, did you hear me!?" Giro looked ahead from behind them and saw a big building in the middle of the other smaller buildings, "You can see the Slither Inc. building from here. This country sure has grown and prospered thanks to them."

"Bigger isn't always better," Vent bluntly replied, not bothering to turn his head to the blond.

Aile nodded in agreement, "If only the security force had come sooner, then our mothers would still be with us today…"

Giro let out a sigh as he recalled the day when he saved the two from the Maverick raid and how he listened to their stories about how they lost their mothers, "I'm sorry that you two lost your mothers in the Maverick raids. I understand how you two feel, but don't let on about your feelings in town. We were experiencing an energy crisis and suffering from never-ending Maverick raids. But that company stepped up and fixed all of those problems. As far as the people are concerned, the president of the company, Serpent, is a genuine hero,"

Giro turned away from the two and the cliff, "Anyway, we better get going. Our client is already on their way to the rendezvous point."

Aile was the first one to go, but noticed that Vent was still standing on his place, "Come on, Vent. Let's get going."

Vent nodded and he went back to his bike, before noticing the package on Aile's bike, "Hey Boss, just who are those Guardians that we took the job request from?" Giro turned to Vent as he continued, "They haven't even told us what's in the package they want delivered so badly."

"The Guardians are a defense force that banded together to fight the Mavericks," Giro started, getting the attention of both Vent and Aile, "Right now, they're moving from place to place investigating the cause of Maverick outbreaks. As for the package, try not to ask too many questions. I'm sure it's very important and very dangerous. It's probably better we don't know."

"I see…" Aile shortly replied as she looked at the package on her bike.

Suddenly, the sound of buster guns were heard before the shots hit Giro's bike. The three quickly crouched, hiding themselves behind their bikes. A small group of Galleon Hunters approached them, who had their guns pointed at the three of them. Aile peeked from behind her bike and saw that the Galleons were pointing the guns at them.

"W-What's happening?" Aile asked, turning to the two males with her.

"Those are Mavericks! But how did they get here!?" Giro asked himself, bracing himself as more shots were coming his way, "Ugh!" Giro moved back as his bike started smoking and headed for Aile's bike, which was right behind his and noticed the package, "The package! They must be after it!"

Aile grabbed the package and held it tightly, not noticing that buster shots were coming to her way, but Vent noticed them and jumped from his bike to Aile's side, but the shots had hit her bike and making it explode, before its explosion expanded to Vent's. The shockwave from the two exploding bikes had sent the two younger transporters off the cliff, along with the package.

"AAAHHH!" The two fell off the cliff, and Aile's grip on the package loosened up, separating it from them.

"Vent! Aile!" Giro yelled as he saw the two being thrown away off the cliff.

The two landed hard on the grassy ground, not noticing that the package had fallen and rolled away from them. Aile got up slowly, unaware of the male transporter under her, "Ugh… That was a long and scary fall…"

"Yeah, to me it was a really bad and painful fall…" Vent added and Aile saw that she was sitting on Vent, who landed face down, "Can't you get off me already!?"

"Sorry!" Aile quickly stood up before Vent stood up in pain.

"Vent! Aile! You two okay!?" The two looked up and saw a worried Giro, "The package! Do you see it!? It should've fallen near you!"

Aile looked ahead and saw the small box, which had been thorn a bit, "There! Is that it?"

Vent and Aile walked closer and picked it up, "Oh great, the box's ruined," Vent took out a blue box of metal from the worn box before throwing away the thorn box, "We won't need this junk anymore!"

"Vent!" Aile glared at him angrily.

"Vent, Aile! Listen!" The two younger transporters looked up, "Take that package to the rendezvous point and give it to the Guardians! I'll join you later once I take care of business up here! Protect that package at all costs!"

"Roger that, Boss!" Giro saw Vent saluting at him with a smile before he took off with Aile.

'_Seriously, Vent… what should I do about you? You can take Aile as a good example for you…'_ Giro thought before turning back to the Galleon Hunters, which had him cornered to the edge of the cliff, _'This is bad… I think they knew that I still have another one with me here…'_ Giro eyed his pocket before turning back to the Galleon Hunters.

"_I can help you."_

"Huh?" Giro looked around, but saw that he was the only one there along with the Mavericks, "W-Who are you? What do you want!?"

"_I am Biometal Model Z,"_ A red box of metal came out of Giro's pocket, _"You can trust me. I will lend you my strength to fight them and reunite you with your precious friends."_

Giro looked at Model Z for a moment before nodding, "Please do, Model Z," Model Z floated closer to Giro before they were both engulfed in bright light.

Meanwhile under the cliff, Vent and Aile had only walked for a few meters when they were stopped by two people in green uniform with a gun and a girl in pink behind them. As they walked closer, the two pointed their guns at the transporters, who raised their hands out of reflexes.

"Who are you!? What are you doing here!?" One of them asked, pointing his gun at them.

"H-Hold on! We're only delivering a package!" Aile nervously replied.

The girl behind the two people in green walked in front of them, "Bar, Maquereau, lower your weapons," The girl motioned the two, who did as they were told, "Are the two of you transporters?"

"Yeah, we are," Vent replied, "Are you Guardians?"

The girl in pink nodded, "Yes. We heard an explosion nearby and came to investigate."

The ground suddenly started shaking, before a snake-like Mechaniloid came out from the ground right in front of the five of them. The Mechaloid looked down at them with its shadow completely covering the five of them.

"W-what's that!?" One of the Guardians, Maquereau, asked in panic as he got his gun ready.

"A snake Mechaniloid! Is that thing with the Mavericks?" Aile asked as she looked up at its head.

"I'm sure of it! It must be the leader of the Mavericks which attacked us!" Vent replied and turned to see that the two Guardians were getting their guns ready before firing the Mechaniloid.

"Prairie! It's too dangerous! Take the Biometal and get out of here!" The other one of the Guardians said as he kept firing the Mechaniloid, but his bullets kept bouncing off. The snake Mechaniloid slammed its tail down, knocking the two Guardians down.

"No! Everyone!" The girl ran over to the two Guardians and knelt beside them.

"Hey! Please get up!" Vent said as he approached the three, "We need to move! They're after the package! Just leave it! If we take it with us, they'll hunt us down!"

"But I can't let the Biometal fall into the wrong hands!" The girl looked up at Vent and protested.

Aile threw the blue metal she was holding angrily before she ran to Vent's side and faced the girl, "Is that Biometal thing that important!? Whatever that Biometal is, it can't be worth throwing your life away! Come on, we have to go!"

"But Sis…" The girl looked down sadly, "She left that for us. It's too valuable to just give it up now!"

Vent growled angrily before noticing that the snake Mechaniloid was getting closer to them. Vent and Aile quickly ran between the Mechaniloid and the three Guardians, but they had no clue what to do next as the Mechaniloid was at least three times their own height.

"What now, Vent?" Aile turned to Vent, who was as clueless as she was.

"How should I know!?" Vent replied in frustration before looking back to the snake Mechaniloid, "We can't handle this on our own!"

"_But we can together,"_ The blue metal which Aile had thrown away earlier floated in front of them, _"I'll lend you a hand."_ The blue metal floated closer between them and engulfed them in bright light.

"AAAGHHH!"

"_Biolink Established! M. E. G. A. System Online!"_

Vent and Aile's bodies were covered in blue-colored armor, and their heads were covered with a blue helmet with a red gem on it. Their right arms turned into buster guns, which they charged up before aiming their shots at the snake's head. The snake let out a screech in pain as the attacks hit its head hard. Vent and Aile were panting, drained from the charged shot attack.

"What happened to us?" Aile asked in between her panting, "This power… is this the power of the Biometal…?"

"_Don't be afraid. I'm Biometal Model X,"_ A voice echoed in the two transporters' heads.

"Model… X?" Vent turned to Aile, who was looking as confused as he was, "Aile, did you hear that? Did you hear a voice?"

"Yeah, I guess I did…" Aile replied before lowering her buster gun.

"_We have to move away from here or that girl will get caught in the middle. With our combined strength, we can fight them off!"_ Model X told the two, who nodded in reply.

The snake moved away, leaving the two along with the three Guardians. The girl stood up and gasped when she saw that Vent's and Aile's appearances had changed, "They transformed!? Are they the two of the Chosen Ones?"

"Hey, you!" Vent turned to the girl in pink, "We need to deliver this to the rendezvous point, right? You just wait here!"

"W-Wait!" Vent and Aile stopped as they were about to dash away and turned to the girl, "I have a name! Prairie. The name's Prairie."

"Ah, please excuse his rudeness!" Aile pushed Vent as she walked a step closer to the girl and apologized, "My name is Aile, and this is Vent. We'll be your transporters today! Just wait here and we'll get some help!"

"Thank you," The girl, Prairie, smiled at them, "Please be careful, Vent and Aile!"

The two nodded before dashing away through the forest, following the tracks which were left by the snake Mechaniloid. As they were halfway through the forest area, they only encountered a few of the Mavericks which only popped out one by one from the bushes as they passed by. Once they were farther in the forest, more and more Mavericks came popping out.

"There's more!?" Aile asked as she shot them one by one, but more of them were still coming.

"Watch out!" Aile turned to see that Vent had shot a charged shot, which was only a few inches away from her, heading straight towards the group of Mavericks and destroyed many of them in mere seconds.

"Hey! I'm standing right here!" Aile turned to Vent angrily.

"Well, I did say 'watch out' didn't I?" Vent defended himself, and then noticed that the ground was shaking a little, "Huh?" The shaking become more violently as the snake Mechaniloid was approaching them, "Aile, you ready? Just like last time, aim for-"

"The head," Aile finished his sentence, "I know, Vent. I know what we did to that thing before!" Aile let out a sigh before charging her buster gun and aimed it at the snake's head.

Aile's double charged shots hit the snake's heat, which made it turn to slam its tail against them, "Look out!" Vent tackled Aile, sending them away so that the snake's tail hit the ground instead.

Aile charged up her buster gun again while Vent shot out his own double charged shots, but he missed his second shot. The snake shot up four green balls at them, but Aile had shot them before they could hit them before releasing her second shot at its head. As the snake turned away to slam its tail at them once more, Vent released both of his charged shots and both shots hit it, finishing it off.

"We did it…" Vent lowered his gun before turning it back into his arm, "You said your name was Model X. Why did you help us?"

"_Do I need a reason to help people?"_ Model X replied, _"You seemed determined to help that girl even though you've never met her before. I just lend you a helping hand, you're the brave ones."_

"Us? Brave ones?" Vent laughed in embarrassment, "Not really, I guess… I personally think that if I didn't at least try, I'd always regret it."

"Well said, Vent!" Aile patted Vent's back before casually putting her arm around him.

"T-Thanks…" Vent blushed as he noticed how close she was to him.

Aile looked ahead, "The rendezvous point should be just up ahead, right?" Aile asked and turned to Vent, who nodded in reply, "Let's go!"

The two of them continued ahead and entered a door, which lead to a room with a transerver in it along with a few Guardians and an old Reploid in blue. The people in the room noticed them coming and turned to the door.

"We're the transporters and we brought the package," Aile started, getting the attention of the people in the room, "Back there a girl named Prairie is waiting and needs your help."

"No way!" One of them spoke up in disbelief before turning to two of his comrades behind him, "Come on! Prairie and the others need us!"

The three Guardians left, leaving Vent and Aile along with the old Reploid who was looking at the two in fascination. Vent turned to the door where the Guardians left, "Everyone seems awfully worried about that Prairie girl…"

"Amazing…" The two transporters turned to the old Reploid, "It looks like you've managed to link up with the Biometal," The old Reploid noticed that the two were staring at him, "Anyway, I'm glad it made it to us safe and sound."

Aile suddenly remembered something, "Hey, have you seen Giro? There should have been another transporter with us. Has he arrived yet?"

The old Reploid shook his head, "No. You're the only one that I've seen so far."

The transerver beeped and the communication service was turned on as a voice came from the transerver, "This is Marue from the rescue squad, and we've found the others! We'll treat the wounded and then head on back to HQ."

"Hold on," The old Reploid approached the transerver, "You haven't spotted another transporter out there, have you? Apparently a transporter has gone missing in the area."

Marue paused for a moment before replying, "Hey! There's some serious smoke rising from the next area. It's totally like someone has fallen under attack!"

"No… Boss!" Vent turned to the old Reploid, "We're going to borrow this Biometal a little longer. We have to save him!"

"What!? You would put the Biometal at risk again!?" The old Reploid asked angrily.

"Oh I see!" Aile folded her arms in annoyance, "Now that your precious package is back, you don't care about the man who risked his life to deliver it!"

"B-But!" The old Reploid was about to argue, but was cut off as Prairie's voice was heard from the transerver.

"Wait! Fleuve! Let them go!"

"Prairie!?" The old Reploid, Fleuve, noticed the familiar voice.

"It's okay Fleuve. They'll keep the Biometal safe from the Mavericks. Vent… Aile… You risked your lives to save me even though you didn't know me. I have faith in you two. I'll clear it with Guardian HQ. Go, help him," Prairie said, getting a nod from the two transporters.

"Now before you go, I have something to tell you two first," Fleuve started, getting the attention from the two, "I've just received orders from HQ. You currently have two mission requests. One mission is to find your fellow transporter. The other mission is to complete a trial in order to get permission to enter Guardian HQ. Complete the two missions and return the Biometal to HQ. At HQ, we'll sign off on the transporter request and your work will be done. You can decide which mission to start first at the transerver."

"I see… We just have to complete those two missions then," Vent said before turning to Aile, "Let's go, Aile! We have to save Boss first!"

Aile nodded in agreement, "Yeah!"

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A bit of info: The updates might be put on hold starting Saturday for a few days when I'm out of town. I'm not too sure when I'll be back for more uploads, but I'm planning to be back around next Friday.

Lastly, please leave a review!


	3. Locate Giro!

*cricket sounds* Alright! Be gone now, crickets! Shoo! Now that I'm back from my holiday out of town, here's the update!

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and most of the storyline!

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_**Megaman ZX – The Novelization**_

_**Chapter 3 – Locate Giro!**_

Vent and Aile continued through the door on the opposite side of the transerver room into the higher part of the forest, which led towards the mountain side of Area B. Wreckages of dead Mavericks and Mechaniloid littered the whole area as seen by the two transporters.

"It looks like there was a fight here," Aile started and noticed that a clean pathway was between the wreckages, "I think we can try following this road. Maybe it'll lead us to Giro," Vent looked at the clean pathway as well before nodding in reply.

"_Vent? __Aile? __Come in Vent__ and Aile,"_ Prairie's voice was heard from the communication devices on Vent's and Aile's ears, _"__About the Mavericks that attacked us, something__with the whole thing is bothering me. There might be a clue in the ruins about__what__'__s causing the Maverick outbreaks. Check them out and see if you can find__something."_

Vent cut off the communication before turning to Aile, "Now that she mentioned it, I guess the attack back then in the forest seems strange, though… It was as if they knew we were carrying a Biometal…"

"Yeah…" Aile replied as she stared at Vent in surprise, "But I think that it's stranger for you to actually think about something…"

"H-Hey! It's not like I've never thought about anything before doing something!" Vent protested, completely unaware of the moving wreckage behind him, "What?"

Aile didn't reply, but instead released a charged shot past Vent, destroying a Galleon Hunter which had popped its gun out of the wreckages. Aile let out a sigh in relief before turning to Vent, who was shocked from her sudden attack, "Let's just consider us to be even. You did that to me, now I'm simply getting a small revenge for that heart attack you gave me!"

Aile walked away, with Vent following her while feeling annoyed, "Well, except that I warned you before! You didn't even tell me that there was still a Maverick left alive and just shot it ahead!" Vent stomped his foot in anger, but noticed that he had stepped on something. Vent looked down at his boot before picking the small object under it, "Is this a computer chip?"

"What is it? Did you find anything interesting?" Aile, who was already a few steps ahead, turned to him and asked, "A chip?"

"_It must be a part that fell off one of the Mavericks__,"_ Prairie said through the communication devices, _"__If you bring it__back to HQ, we can analyze it. It might give us the lead we need. If you find__anything else, bring that back too__."_

"Alright," Vent held the chip in his hand before turning to Aile, "Let's move!"

Aile nodded in agreement before the two of them headed deeper into the area. Even with a lot of wreckages around them, there were still some of them which were still operative and attacked them as they passed. When they crossed through an open field, Aile stopped in her tracks as she had heard a strange noise. Vent noticed that Aile had stopped walking and turned to see that she was looking up at the sky.

"What is it?" Vent asked, feeling clueless.

"Do you hear something?" Aile asked as she turned to Vent before looking back at the sky, "I'm not sure if my ears are playing tricks with me, but I think I heard a whirring sound just now."

A strong breeze blew between them before a big shadow passed above them. Vent looked to the direction where the shadow went and saw a pink plane-like Mechaniloid, "Nope, your ears are just fine."

Vent and Aile got their buster guns ready as the plane Mechaniloid made a U-turn and headed towards their direction. The Mechaniloid hovered above their heads and opened up the door on the bottom, dropping three metal boxes on them. Vent and Aile moved away just in time before the boxes could squash them flat.

Unnoticed by the two, the bottommost and topmost boxes and fired out blue elliptical projectiles at them. Vent was pushed back by the impact, making him miss the Mechaniloid as he was aiming at it. Aile barely dodged it, but the projectile managed to put a scar on her right shoulder armor. Aile released a charged shot to the boxes in order to stop them from sending out projectiles, but instead it exploded and sent the boxes flying towards the Mechaniloid.

'_That's it!'_ Aile turned to Vent, who was shooting the Mechaniloid aimlessly, "Vent, aim for the metal boxes! It'll make them explode and send them back to the Mechaniloid!"

"Got it?" The Mechaniloid came to drop more boxes on top of Vent, who jumped away to dodge. Vent quickly aimed for the bottommost box, but his shot just bounced away before the projectiles it sent knocked him and Aile.

"W-What? But I thought…" Aile got up slowly to her feet, wincing in pain, _'It worked like a charm before, but why did Vent's shot just bounced back just then?'_ Aile saw that Vent was already standing and was still shooting at the boxes, until one of the shots hit the topmost box before they exploded, sending the boxes flying towards the Mechaniloid, "I got it now!"

"Now what?" Vent asked, turning to Aile in annoyance, "Got any other brilliant plans, genius?"

"Yes! And this time I'm sure it'll work!" Aile replied, getting annoyed as well with Vent's attitude, "We have to shoot the box which doesn't send those projectiles at us!"

"Well, this better works!" Vent said in annoyance before turning back to the Mechaniloid, which had dropped more boxes in front of them, _'Shoot the box which doesn't send out projectiles…'_ Vent watched closely and saw that the middle box and the top box were about to send out projectiles, "There!"

Vent and Aile released their charged shots, making the boxes explode before sending them towards the Mechaniloid. The plane-like Mechaniloid was still hovering above them, but its flying was becoming a little unstable. It flew a little bit away from them before moving more boxes on the ground.

Before more projectiles were shot out, Vent and Aile had fired another charged shot. The explosion had sent the boxes flying once more, hitting the doors where the metal boxes came from. As damaged as it was now, the plane-like Mechaniloid still had the energy left to keep itself hovering in the air.

"When will this thing ever give up!?" Vent yelled angrily as he saw that the Mechaniloid was still hovering above them.

"Yaaah!" A voice was heard before a blond man in red armor and a dark visor over his eyes jumped down, smashing a green saber towards the Mechaniloid and sent it crashing to the ground next to the two transporters.

"That such power… Is that the power of a Biometal?" Aile commented as she looked at the damage done to the Mechaniloid.

"It looks like you two came in contact with the Biometal too," The man turned to the two transporters before transforming back into the form they were familiar with, "Vent, Aile…"

"Boss!" Vent and Aile ran over to their friend and boss, feeling glad.

"When the Mavericks had me cornered, the Biometal suddenly started to shine," Giro pulled out a red Biometal from his pocket, "The next moment, I was fighting them off in that form. I knew we were hauling something important. But I had no idea of the power that was hidden in that package."

"Wait, how do you know about the Biometal?" Aile asked.

"Ah… Well…" Giro rubbed the back of his head nervously while turning away from the two, "I heard about it when I got the request. They told me to keep it quiet because it would be too risky to let anyone know what was inside."

Aile nodded in understanding, "I see…"

Giro let out a sigh before turning to them with a smile, "At least we know the two Biometal fragments are safe now. I'm going to use the transerver to go back to Guardian HQ. I'll be waiting. Don't take too long."

"It sounds like you managed to meet up with Giro," Prairie said through the communication devices as she sighed in relief, "That's a relief. Oh, be sure to go to the transerver in the back room and send confirmation to HQ that the mission has been completed."

"Got it!" Vent replied before cutting the communication, "Come on, we still have to take the Guardian's test now."

"Yeah," Aile nodded, "I wonder what kind of test they are going to give us…"

"I won't need to worry about it at all! I'm sure we'll both pass!" Vent said confidently before heading towards the transerver room in the back of the area.

* * *

Not really sure with the Z-saber's color though... I think Zero's saber is blue in the X series (according to the artwork, I don't play the X series) and in Zero series, Zero's saber is green and so is Giro's Z-saber when he transformed (I think it's green in the sprite version). So... *ahem* Vent and Aile have finally reunited with Giro once again, who is surprisingly the Chosen One for Model Z! Now stay tuned as the brown-haired transporters take the test to be able to enter the Guardian HQ!


	4. The Guardians

... Nothing much to say up here...

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and most of the storyline!

* * *

_**Megaman ZX – The Novelization**_

_**Chapter 4 – The Guardians**_

Vent and Aile went through the door on the opposite side of the transerver room, which led them to the city. Far away from their location, they could see buildings in various heights along with a few people doing their activities in peace. As they were about to head out, the communication devices went on.

"_Hold on. It looks like Slither Inc.'s security force is starting to patrol the area,"_ Prairie's voice was heard from the other side.

"Patrols?" Aile turned to Vent, who had his head turned to her as well, "That's the first time we've ever heard of them doing those."

"Slither Inc. must have already heard about the Maverick attack. If you stay transformed, they might think you're in league with the Mavericks and attack you on sight. I'm sure the people around town will also find it hard to approach you if you look like that. In any case, it's too dangerous to walk around town transformed. Be careful," Prairie explained before cutting off the communication.

Vent and Aile transformed back into their human forms before a Guardian approached them, "You're going to undertake the trial for permission to enter HQ right?" Vent and Aile nodded in reply, "My name is Dorado. There are four Guardians hidden like me throughout town. If you can find all of us, you pass the test," Dorado moved aside and made a way for the two transporters, "Let the trial begin! Good luck!"

"Thanks!" Aile replied before she turned to Vent, "To speed things up, let's split up and find those Guardians."

"Do we have to?" Vent complained, getting a glare from Aile, "R-Right! I'll go! I'll go!"

Vent backed away from Aile out of fear, before he ran into the city. Aile watched him go before letting out a sigh, "Seriously… Being with him sometimes makes me feel like I'm pampering a kid!" Aile let out another sigh before she walked into the city.

An hour had passed since Vent and Aile started the trial for the permission to enter Guardian HQ. Vent was the first to find a Guardian, whose name was Oelliet, who was hiding in a house near the point where he started. Meanwhile, Aile had already found Carrelet in a small house and Congre, who was hiding away from the Slither Inc.'s patrol team. Aile was crawling through a series of pipe holes when she noticed a big man in the green Guardian outfit sitting right next to the last pipe hole.

"Ah! You're a Guardian too, right?" Aile asked as she rose to her feet.

"You're right! The name's Thon, and congrats for findin' me, little miss!" The big man, Thon, offered a hand for her to shake, "I wish we had more of your kind in the Guardians. But whether you decide to join us or not is up to you. I'll be headin' back. See ya later!"

With Thon teleported away, Prairie contacted Aile through the communication device on her ear, _"It looks like you and Vent found them all. Head to Area C-2 and get the certification for passing the test. That will conclude your trial."_

"Alright, thanks Prairie!" Aile cut off the communication, "Wait, if I found three of them, then…" With a sly grin on her face, Aile reached out for the communication device once more, "Hey Vent! Looks like I win!"

"_Huh? Wait, who told you that this is a competition about who finds the most Guardians?"_ Vent asked from the other side, along with some dog barking in the background, _"H-Hey! Cut it out! I'm going out already!"_

"Vent, did something happen? Or perhaps you're doing something silly again?" Aile asked, noticing that the dog barking sound was slowly fading.

"_Nothing! So, what's next? Can we go to the HQ now?"_ Vent asked impatiently.

"Just one more thing. Go to Area C-2 to get the certification, then we can go," Aile replied, "I'll go on ahead and wait for you there, but don't you dare making me wait long!"

"_I promise, I won't! I'm already in the area… wait! I think I saw the Guardian over there! Okay, race you there!"_ Vent said quickly before cutting off the communication.

"Hey! That's not fair! I don't even know where you are!" Aile complained, but got no answer as Vent had already cut the communication and sighed in frustration, "You're so childish!" Aile said angrily before running towards the meeting point, where the Guardian, Dorado, was waiting.

As Aile approached them, she saw that Dorado wasn't on his own. Vent was already there with him, looking at her with a grin and a peace sign, "I beat you here!"

"Whatever…" Aile completely ignored Vent before turning to Dorado, "Are you here to give us the certification?"

Dorado nodded in reply before he pulled out a white stuffed animal, which had many stitches on it, "Here, take this."

"You're kidding…" Vent commented in disbelief as he saw Aile taking the stuffed animal from the Guardian, "That's our certification?"

"You better take care of that," Dorado said as he turned to Vent, feeling offended, "It's one of Prairie's most prized possessions. Anyway, that concludes your trial. You can now use the transerver to go to the Guardian HQ."

"This is so cute!" Aile commented as she hugged the stuffed animal, "I hope you don't mind with me holding it!"

"Sure… Just suit yourself," Vent replied and saw Aile kept holding the stuffed animal as they walked back towards the transerver and smiled, _'As a tomboy as she is on the outside, Aile is still a girl in the inside…'_

As they reached the transerver, they sent the mission report before the teleported themselves into the Guardian HQ. Once they arrived at the HQ's transerver room, they saw that there were Giro, Prairie and another Guardian in the room. Vent noticed the glass wall on the opposite side of the room, which had the sight of the blue sky along with some clouds, and ran towards it.

"Wow, an airship?" Vent leaned on the glass, completely ignoring the other people in the room, "I certainly wasn't expecting an airship, but this is so cool!"

"The Guardians have to explore the world, so we need a convenient method of staying mobile," Prairie shortly explained.

"Oh, I think I have something you should have, Prairie," Vent reached for his pockets and pulled out a chip before handing it over to Prairie, "This is the chip we found when we were out there."

"And as for the certification that we passed the trial…" Aile looked down to the stuffed animal she was holding in her arms before handing it to Prairie, "Is this it?"

Prairie took the stuffed animal with a smile on her face, "Yes, that was a gift from Sis. It holds a lot of memories for me. Thank you for bringing it back."

Giro sighed in irritation before turning to Vent, "Vent! You can't just call her by her first name! Got it? Hmph, kids…"

"Don't worry about it Giro," Prairie turned to Giro with a smile while holding the stuffed animal in her arms, "I want to apologize for the grave danger I put you three in. Let's meet at the command center and I will explain everything there. Once you're out of this room, turn to the right."

The Guardians went out of the transerver room, and followed by Vent and Aile. The two headed towards the command center, where Prairie and Giro were waiting. Prairie was sitting at the main hub with Giro watching her behind her chair. When they noticed the two new Guardian members came in, they turned to them.

"Let me take this opportunity to welcome you to Guardian Headquarters. And…" Prairie rose from her seat, "I am Prairie, the commander of the Guardians."

"EEEHHH!?" Vent and Aile yelled in unison out of surprise.

"The commander of all the Guardians!? T-Then that means…" Vent turned to Giro, who nodded at him.

"Yes, she's a very important client," Giro's expression turned into an angry one, "Which is exactly why I want you two to call her by her proper title."

"How could a girl our age be commanding the Guardians?" Aile asked, still in disbelief.

"It all started with the sentient machines, known as Mavericks, continue to attack people," Prairie started, "This terrible situation should not even exist. Hundreds of years ago, man and machine put aside their differences and agreed to a truce. The Guardians have continued to investigate the root cause behind the current Maverick outbreaks. One day we found a research lab belonging to a certain scientist."

"A 'certain scientist'?" Vent and Aile asked in unison.

"The first commander of the Guardians… The one who disappeared," Prairie lowered her head, "She was my Sis."

"So you took over when she was gone…" Vent concluded, getting a nod from Prairie.

"And we were hauling the Biometal that you found at the research lab," Giro added, getting another nod from Prairie.

"A long time ago, the world humans and machines was saved by a group of legends," Prairie turned away from the three and looked up to the sky through the glass in the room as she continued, "Biometal are fragments containing the consciousness of those legendary heroes. There might be some hint regarding the Maverick outbreaks in the data stored at the lab," Prairie turned back to the group, "Fleuve's personal laboratory is right next to the transerver room. Take the Biometal data there for analysis. I'll be here analyzing that computer chip that you brought back."

Vent and Aile followed Giro to a short trip towards Fleuve's lab, where the old Reploid was doing some analysis on Model Z, "Oh, good, good. I have been waiting for you two! Now, where is this fragment of Biometal?"

"Here," Vent pulled out Model X from his pocket.

Fleuve took Model X from Vent's hand before returning Model Z to Giro. The old Reploid put the Biometal on table in front of a virtual keyboard and began typing on his computer and codes started appearing line by line on the screen above it, along with part descriptions of the Biometal. Once the data stopped appearing, Fleuve took the Biometal and handed it back to Vent, "Data transfer complete. Much appreciated! You can take the Biometal back now."

The alarm suddenly went off, "W-What's going on?" Aile asked as she turned to Vent and Giro.

"Mavericks detected in Area D! Mission objectives will be relayed on arrival. Move out and await further orders," The voice of the operator was heard through the intercom, "I repeat! Mavericks detected in Area D! Mission objectives will be relayed on arrival. Move out and await further orders."

"Area D…" Giro thought for a moment and noticed something, "That's right next to the Slither Inc. head office!"

"It's too dangerous for you to go back to town now. We must hurry to the command center!" Fleuve suggested before the four of them headed towards the command center.

In the command center, Prairie noticed the four came in and turned her chair around, "It looks like our enemy is on the move."

"'Enemy'? So they're not just random Maverick attacks?" Giro asked, getting a nod from Prairie as her expression turned serious.

"After I did a little snooping on the chip Vent and Aile brought back, I found that there is a program controlling the Mavericks," Prairie started, "There is someone behind the Maverick attacks, but they're just making them seem like random raids. They must be trying to steal the Biometal you were carrying."

"I knew it…" Vent curled his hands into fists in anger, "Then what about the Serpent's security force? Where are they? Why haven't they arrived yet!?"

Prairie paused for a moment before answering, "It takes time for them to be recalled to the head office from their patrol routes in the city. Guardian ground forces are moving to intercept the Mavericks in Area D."

A light lit up on one of the operators' screens, "Maquereau from the ground forces reporting! The Mavericks are heading for the residential district. Troops are exchanging fire on the highway in Area D!"

"No!" It was Aile's turn to get angry, "Then, what about the people in town!?" Aile turned to Vent, "Come on, Vent! We have to do something!"

As Vent and Aile were running towards the door, Fleuve stopped them, "Vent!? Aile!? Where are you going!?"

"With the help from the Biometal, we can fight! We can help those people!" Vent replied and saw that Giro had come over to them, "Boss! We have to go and help them!"

"Think, you two! That Biometal is exactly what they want! You'll play straight into their hands if you go out there to fight!" Giro rejected, holding their arms to prevent them from going.

"You saw it, right? You must've seen it ten years ago…" Vent lowered his head, "My mom was killed by Mavericks right in front of me, but if the security force… if Serpent's security force had come sooner, see would have been alive today! They had the power to prevent that, but they did nothing!"

Vent's angry yell had silenced the whole room and Aile was the first one to speak, "I agree with Vent… The people are going to get hurt when the Mavericks reach them! We can't just sit here and watch! We'll take down every last one of them!"

Vent nodded in agreement before he and Aile broke free from Giro's grip, "Let's go, Aile! We have some Mavericks to destroy!"

"Vent! Aile!" Prairie called out, but none of them listened and went out through the door.

Giro let out a sigh before putting a hand on his forehead, "Why won't they ever listen…?"

* * *

The idea about the Guardian test thing is mostly original since the Guardians in the test are pretty much unimportant characters, though...

Vent and Aile rush into the scene, but none of them know what's waiting for them both. So, what's next? Stay tuned and find out! And please leave a review!


	5. Goodbye Old Friend

Before I start the disclaimer, you should know by now what's coming right? So, get that certain fitting music for that certain scene! (Hint: Trinity is the title)

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and most of the storyline!

* * *

_**Megaman ZX – The Novelization**_

_**Chapter 5 – Goodbye Old Friend**_

"Vent! Aile! Hold on!" Vent and Aile, who were running ahead while merged with Model X, stopped and turned to see Giro, merged with Model Z, running after them.

"Boss, we…" Vent started, but Giro had predicted what he was about to say and shook his head.

"No, I'm not going to stop you two. I know that even if I do, you will keep insisting to help," Giro told the two, "Come on, let's go!"

The two new Guardians nodded in agreement and let Giro moved ahead with them following him a bit farther behind. The sounds of buster shots were heard as Vent and Aile shot the Mavericks which stood their way as they followed Giro towards the Slither Inc.'s head office. As they were being surrounded by more and more Mavericks, they slowly lost track of where Giro went, but instead found an injured Guardian on his knees.

The Guardian looked up as he noticed the two coming, "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," The Guardian answered Aile's question before turning to the direction opposite of where Vent and Aile came from, "Another transporter came and rescued me before going on ahead alone. You have to help him!"

"We're on it!" Vent nodded and turned to Aile, "Come on, let's hurry! Boss might need our help!"

They continued ahead, but were stopped when two fly-shaped Mechaniloid came and blocked their way, "Now, what's this? Just how many of them are there!?"

"I don't know!" Vent replied, aiming his buster gun at one of the Mechaniloids, "I don't care how many of them here, but I care about blasting them to pieces before they reached the residential district!"

One of the Mechaniloid sent out a few smaller fly Mechaniloids at the two, who dodged them by jumping away, which made themselves open for the other Mechaniloid as it had sent out a barrage of magenta-colored energy beams at them. Aile managed to cut some damage by doing a midair backflip before landing safely on her feet. Vent landed hard on his back, but managed to land a weak charged shot at the first Mechaniloid's abdomen.

Aile aimed her shots on the second Mechaniloid's wings, hoping that breaking them would make the Mechaniloid crash to the ground. A medium sized charged shot from Aile's buster gun managed to crack the Mechaniloid's left wing before it crashed and exploded. Meanwhile, Vent released a charged shot towards the first Mechaniloid's chest and went through its body, destroying it completely.

After transforming his buster back to his arm, Vent turned to the city below him, _'Serpent's security force… why are they taking so much time coming back from their patrols!?'_ Vent turned to Aile, "Come on, let's hurry! The building should be nearby!"

"Right!" Aile nodded before the two continued on towards the Slither Inc. head office's entrance, where three figures were standing in front another figure that was familiar to them.

"Is that… Giro!?" Aile asked as Vent and Aile ran over to the group.

There was a big man standing right next to Giro, who was lying down while wincing in pain, with one of his hand extended above the blond man. Behind the big man, a shorter male Reploid were standing while holding a green-bladed scythe along with a female Reploid with a green staff in her hand.

"Ah, you've come. Model X, the blue Mega Men," The big man spoke up, "It's time to see the legend in action," The man held his hand above Giro, who were struggling in pain.

"Ugh… Stay… away… It's a trap…" Giro whispered weakly before his body started glowing, "Aaargh!"

The man along with the two Reploids teleported away before Giro stood up, looking at Vent and Aile with glowing red eyes, "B-Boss! What happened!?"

"S-Shoot… me…!" Giro replied shakily before he pulled out his saber while shaking.

"What!?" Aile was shocked to hear what her boss and friend had said, "B-But Giro… we don't… we don't want to shoot you!"

Giro didn't respond, but instead he charged in at Aile with his saber at his side. Once he was a few meters away from her, he jumped and raised his saber above his head. Aile aimed at Giro, but her arms were shaking as she hadn't got the heart to shoot her own friend. She closed her eyes and braced for impact, which never came. She reopened her eyes to see Vent, his back turned to her, with his buster gun at the direction where Giro was.

"I'm… sorry…" Vent whispered before dropping his arms, "I don't know… I don't know what to do… I don't want to hurt you, Boss… but I also don't want to see Aile got hurt…"

"Vent…" Aile saw as Vent lowered his head before she noticed that Giro had charged in towards her and Vent with his saber right in front of him, "Look out!"

Aile pushed Vent out of the way before she sidestepped to dodge the attack. Vent and Aile distanced themselves from Giro, who had stabbed the ground with his saber and made pillars of energy come shooting out from the ground. Vent and Aile took the hits and fell to the ground, their armors started cracking.

"Please…" Vent closed his eyes and aimed his buster in front of him, "Stop it, Boss! Please stay with us!"

Vent released a charged shot, which hit Giro on his chest and knocked him back. Vent heard to sound of him falling and opened his eyes to see that Giro was on one knee, using his saber to support himself. Aile helped Vent up before the two of the approached Giro, but the blond man was struck by purple lighting as the two Guardians stepped closer.

"Girooo!" Aile yelled as she and Vent ran over to him.

Suddenly, the three teleported back right in front of them and the big man was the first one to speak up as he looked down at Vent, Aile, and Giro, "Model X, the blue Mega Men… Model Z, the red Mega Man… Such disappointments," The man let out a disappointed sigh, "The Biometal the Guardians found might as well have been tin scrapings."

Vent quickly stood up and aimed his buster at them with both of his arms shaking, "Who are you!?"

"The name is Serpent. I rule all that lies before me. I am the Model W Mega Man!" The man, Serpent, replied before he revealed a triangular object in his hand.

"Serpent!?" Aile stood up in surprise, "You're the president of Slither Inc.!"

Serpent let out a chuckle, "I see my reputation precedes me. You'd do well to remember me, blue Mega Man!"

Aile aimed her own buster at Serpent, her arms shaking, "You're the one behind the Mavericks and what happened to Giro!"

"You two are shaking…" The female Reploid behind Serpent started in a whisper, "Is it anger… Or fear?"

"Hmph, at least the red one was more of a challenge than this one," The male Reploid spat out, angering both Vent and Aile.

"What!? We'll show you just how strong we are!" Vent and Aile charged their busters, aiming them at Serpent and the two Reploid behind him.

"Prometheus," Serpent turned to the male Reploid.

"Ah, poor blue Mega Men," The male Reploid, Prometheus, said as he got his scythe ready, "What you mistake for courage is nothing more than mere recklessness."

"QUIET!" Vent and Aile yelled in unison before releasing their shots, but Prometheus swung his scythe and reflected the shots back to them.

"N-No…" Vent whispered weakly.

"Chosen Ones like us, who can control the Biometal's M. E. G. A. System and transform, are called Mega Men. The chosen few are the shepherds for guiding the flock in a new world," Serpent raised a hand and looked down at Vent and Aile in disgust, "But you've proven with your pathetic abilities that not all Mega Men are fit to rule."

Lighting struck down on Vent and Aile, transforming them back into their human forms. Their Biometal, Model X, fell between them and were heavily damaged from their previous battle with Giro. Serpent saw them collapsed on the ground, powerless, before turning to the female Reploid standing next to Prometheus.

"Pandora, pull the password data out of them," Serpent ordered.

"Understood…" The female Reploid, Pandora, replied before her left and right head pieces separated and hovered above the two Biometals.

Prometheus yawned out of boredom, "That was far too easy. What should we do with them?"

"Leave them to the Mavericks and carry on as you were," Serpent turned away from Vent and Aile, who had shocked looks on their faces, "A battle between the evil Mavericks and the good Slither Inc. security force. Classic. The people of this town will go on with their lives as usual. We need the facade of peace to continue on just a little bit longer," Serpent turned back to the Guardians with an evil smile on his face, "Eventually they will all become a glorious sacrifice for Model W."

"W-what… did you say…?" Aile asked weakly.

Pandora's head pieces went back to their places, "Password data retrieval complete…"

Serpent laughed in satisfaction, "Now we have all of the passwords. Let's go. It's time to

proceed with Project Haven."

Serpent and Pandora teleported away, leaving Prometheus on his own as he approached the Guardians, "It seems the heroic legends of Model X and Z are nothing more than that, legends," Prometheus turned away before he teleported away.

Vent tried getting up, but failed as he fell down on his chest, "Argh… My body… can't move…"

"Is this it…? Is this… the end… for us…?" Aile asked weakly, slowly turning her head towards Vent and Giro.

Giro moved a bit before he raised his head, "Never… give up… You still have something… you must protect…"

"Boss… You're awake!" Vent turned to Giro with a weak smile.

Giro turned to the red Biometal next to him, "Model Z… listen… Don't worry about me…"

"_Do you know what you__'__re asking? Your body is already beyond recovery.__If you transform back, you will not survive the wounds__…"_ Model Z asked, getting a weak nod from Giro.

"I know… That's why… please… lend your strength… to these two…" Giro replied before turning to Vent, and then to Aile.

Model Z was hesitant at first, but then replied, "Alright, I will…"

"Vent… Aile…" Giro let out a weak smile as his body started glowing, "Don't… give up… and stay strong…" Giro's body glowed before it disappeared, leaving a sphere-shaped light before it floated away.

Aile had crawled towards Giro and tried reaching out to the light, but it was too late as it had floated away, "Giro… GIRO!" Tears started pouring out from her eyes as she and Vent cried over the loss of their boss, and their best friend.

"Boss…" Vent's tears started falling, "Why…? First my mom… Now Boss… I can't protect anyone…"

"_This is your last chance. If you combine the power from the two__Biometal fragments, you might be able to transform again. I can__'__t be certain__whether or not you__ two wi__ll be able to bear the strain when the two fragments are__combined__,"_ Model X stated.

A group of Mavericks came and surrounded the two Guardians, _"__It__'__s your decision. You __two__ must make it__ on your own__. Do you have the will to__fight? Do you have what it takes to continue where that brave man left off?__"_ Model Z asked.

"Model X…" Vent and Aile said in unison before they both grabbed Model X, "Model Z…" Vent and Aile grabbed Model Z.

"Power…" Vent continued.

"We need your power," It was Aile's turn to continue.

"We need to protect the people, all of them! Give us the strength we need to fight for those we care about!" Vent and Aile continued to say in unison before they were engulfed with bright white light, which also engulfed the Mavericks as well.

Red armor started forming on Vent and Aile as they both held the two Biometals together with their eyes shut. Some circuits glowed on their foreheads before a red helmet was formed on their heads. Golden hair came out from the back of their helmets before they reopened their eyes, which were glowing in their original green color. The light disappeared, leaving Vent and Aile in their new red armor and weapons. Vent held a green saber in his hand, while held a white buster in hers.

"_Our strength…"_ Model X's voice echoed in their heads.

"_Is yours! And Giro's spirit is also with you!"_ Model Z's voice echoed in their heads as well.

Vent turned to Aile with a determined smile, "Let's go!"

The two dashed away from the head office's building, but stopped once they saw an airship coming from the street below them. Aile looked up, and saw a familiar logo on it, "That's a Slither Inc. airship!" Vent and Aile chased it, but it had flown higher and higher, "No! Giro… we… we…"

"_The battle between the Mavericks and the security force has__begun. You can__'__t stay there. It__'__s too dangerous. Return to HQ immediately__,"_ Prairie's voice was heard from the communication devices on their ears.

"Prairie… let us fight. We must… protect them…" Vent curled his hands into fists, "Every last one of them."

The two went back to the HQ through the transerver. In their ZX form, they headed straight towards the command center and told Prairie about everything which happened. About Giro, about the two mysterious Reploids who came along with Serpent, and about Serpent's plans he called as Project Haven.

"Vent… Aile…" Prairie looked at the two Guardians worriedly.

"We're fine. We can't sit on the sidelines crying while the world falls to pieces. Serpent said he would sacrifice the country to power Model W. We have to keep fighting," Vent said in determination.

Aile nodded in agreement, "We must stop Serpent. Giro would want it that way. That's why he gave us Model Z," Aile let out a sad sigh, "Giro had saved my life again… But why did I have to be the one to make it out alive?"

"Aile… Don't start thinking like that," Prairie responded, "Giro gave his life protecting you. Don't ever forget how much he cared about you and Vent."

"Boss…" Vent lowered his head.

"We've analyzed the data and found out a few things," Prairie changed the subject, "Model W has the power to corrupt machines and humans alike. That's what has been causing the Maverick outbreaks. But Serpent only has the Model W Biometal fragment now."

"He's going to try and sacrifice everyone," Aile added, "We won't let that happen! Where is the Model W Core now?"

"I'm not sure…" Prairie frowned, "Some of the data was corrupt and we couldn't complete the analysis. What I do know is that the six passwords encoded into the Biometal fragments are the keys. Combined they will unlock the seal that contains the core. I managed to get Model X and Model Z first…"

"But Slither Inc. found the other four," Vent finished, "It looks like we don't have much choice. We have to fight and take them by force!" Vent raised his fists in determination.

Prairie nodded in reply, "I'm going to simulate the data and narrow down the Biometal locations using the Maverick signatures. Once I get a mission plan together, I'll add that information to the transerver. For the time being, I want you two to get some rest. We have two vacant rooms in the HQ, just below this floor."

"Okay," Aile replied with a smile, "Thanks Prairie! And good night!"

"Good night to you two! I hope you have a nice rest!" Prairie replied as she saw the two left the command center.

* * *

The game itself doesn't give the info about day and night, so the good night things are made up by me. Anyways, please leave a review!

EDIT: Some info about my ZX fics including this one is in my profile along with my plans about writing for this series. Check my profile for more info! :)


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